Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to CRM call processing and more particularly to caller on hold management in a CRM application.
Description of the Related Art
In business, beyond the sale of a product or service remains the fundamental management of the relationship between the vendor and the customer. CRM applications seek to provide a foundation upon which business can manage the relationship with the customer from the moment in time before one becomes a customer to the moment in beyond which one becomes a customer. Modern CRM applications provide this foundation through a collection of well organized database records relating to all aspects of the customers and the products and services provided by the vendor to the customers. A visual user interface presents a view to the database records so as to assist the business in visualizing the past, present and potentially future state of the relationship between the business and the customer.
CRM applications often are equipped to manage communications with customers. In the twenty-first century, a common mode of interacting with customers and even potential customers is electronic mail followed closely by instant messaging. However, the venerable telephone call remains part and parcel of the business-to-customer relationship. With respect to telephone call processing in CRM, at the outset, what is required is the receipt of a telephone call from the customer to the vendor—typically a call center of the vendor. As it is well-understood, however, in many instances, more telephone calls are received in the call center than there are available persons to process the call. Alternatively, oftentimes, a caller is compelled to wait while a call center operator processes a request of the caller. In either instance, the caller is placed on hold.
Traditionally, when a caller is placed on hold, music is played over the telephone call so as to entertain the caller, and also to provide a mental cue that the telephone call has not been dropped. Alternatively, generic messaging is presented over the call, reminiscent of a paid television programming or an “infomercial”. Of course, long hold periods for a caller can be frustrating—especially when the caller seeks assistance with a purchased product or service, or where the caller is impatient in seeking information regarding a potential purchase of a product or service. The generically provided music for a caller on hold seldom acts to alleviate the impatience experienced by the caller on hold. Further, corporate propaganda pertaining to generic infomercial material certainly does not act to sooth the caller on hold.